Whos saying that WA Premier scoffs at suggestion he doesnt want AFL grand final in Perth

Western Australia won’t stump up taxpayer funds to secure the 2021 AFL grand final if Victoria extends its lockdown but the state’s proposal has given the league a get-out-of-jail-free card to host a package of week-long events ahead of its signature fixture slated for September 25.

WA Premier Mark McGowan on Thursday reinforced his commitment to help the AFL complete its season but defended the hardline regulations required to host the premiership decider at Optus Stadium, as two rival states gear up to bid for the marquee event if it can’t be held at the MCG.

WA Premier Mark McGowan at a press conference on Thursday.Credit:Peter de Kruijff

“I’d very much hope Victoria gets it under control, we’re very hopeful that that will occur,” McGowan said.

“In terms of football, it’s not my number one priority. We’ll continue to work with the AFL but whatever we do will be COVID-safe.”

The Premier scoffed at the suggestion he didn’t have the energy to welcome various cohorts and the logistical roadshow that accompanied grand final week, as suggested by prominent AFL figures including Fox Footy broadcaster Jason Dunstall this week.

“Who’s saying that? Jason Dunstall! I used to love Jason Dunstall, I can’t believe he’s criticising me,” McGowan said.

“I used to love that guy ... he’s gone down in my estimation.”

Victoria’s current lockdown is due to end on September 2, but there will be no joking around if it is extended by Premier Daniel Andrews. The state recorded 57 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Thursday from more than 49,600 tests.

AFL insider and Nine broadcaster Eddie McGuire was adamant on Wednesday night the league would relocate the grand final and put it up for sale if Victoria’s lockdown was extended, leaving WA in a bidding war with South Australia and Queensland.

Brisbane hosted the first AFL grand final outside Victoria in 2020 at the Gabba, which can seat close to 37,000 spectators at full capacity, while South Australia’s Adelaide Oval can hold 53,500.

While WA’s $1.8 million, 60,000-seat stadium would boost AFL coffers the most, McGowan has been reluctant in the past to commit funds to secure the marquee fixture, with the two rival states likely to swoop and sweeten the deal for the league with a monetary commitment as part of their bids.

“They don’t want the images they had last year of people frolicking in resorts and going to nightclubs in Queensland, and neither do we.”

WA Premier Mark McGowan on the AFL

The league’s decision to scrap the pre-finals bye has opened doors for Perth to host a grand final parade with players from both clubs and the public as well as other key grand final week events.

Logistically, the final four clubs left in the premiership race could arrive in Perth on September 5 after the semi-finals to begin quarantine. Two preliminary finals could then be held on September 10 and 11, so the qualifying final winners avoid a two-week break to preserve competitive integrity.

The pre-finals bye would occur the following weekend, with the grand final clubs ending their quarantine on September 20, allowing the AFL to hold its traditional parade and even the Brownlow Medal in Perth before a ‘clean’ grand final at Optus Stadium on September 25.

“That has a lot of logic to it,” McGowan said when presented with the scenario on Thursday.

“We want the AFL to be able to complete their season and we stand ready to assist, as long as they abide by the strict rules we have in place.”

The plan would appease the AFL, given it could then monetise other grand final events and essentially get out of jail for free.

McGowan said a week of celebrations in WA was possible but insisted his state would not pay the AFL to bring the grand final to Perth.

“We put a plan to the AFL that they’ll consider, and it’s very COVID-safe. So, in terms of people coming out of NSW, we’re saying no,” he said.

“In terms of big financial grants [to the AFL], we’re saying no.

“They don’t want to be responsible for a COVID outbreak, they don’t want the images they had last year of people frolicking around in resorts and, you know, going to nightclubs and all that sort of stuff in Queensland, and we don’t want that either.”

Tourism Council WA chief executive Evan Hall said a grand final in Perth would provide a significant economic boost the industry, even with the state’s border closed.

“We think just from West Australians alone …. we will get about 30,000-plus visitor nights in hotels,” he told 6PR. “That would inject about $10 million into our hotels.”

On the subject of hotels, rooms at Perth’s Crown Towers â€" next to the Optus Stadium precinct â€" were already exhausted for the night of September 25, the only Saturday night in the next month it was fully booked.

Time will tell if those bookings are prescient or premature.

David Prestipino writes about sports and lifestyle for WAtoday.

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